Love and War- Darkest Powers Chronicles
by Eletha Landon
Summary: Because stealing the calculator of a particularly math savvy werewolf, inducing a game of supernatural tag, is frowned upon in a safe house. There will be blood, disembodied parts, and zombies. Not really, but anything goes in Love and War. Darkest Powers Chronicles One-shot. R


**Story- Love and War**

**Author- Alasyn of Crimson Amethyst**

**Genre: Romance/ Humor**

**Characters- Chloe Saunders, Derek Souza**

**Summary- Because stealing the calculator of a particularly math savvy werewolf, inducing a game of supernatural tag, is frowned upon in a safe house. There will be blood, disembodied parts, and zombies. Not really, but anything goes in Love and War.**

**Type- Original/Powers, One-shot**

**Dedication- xSweetEternityx- For having great sportsmanship with my knit-picky nagging in re-reading and taking constructive criticism so well, and her story, Fire and Ice, inspired this idea to pop in my head. Honestly, I don't know the connection, but here it is!**

**Author's Note- It was fun to write, really. I've never actually written anything that isn't angsty or tragic, or simply messed up in any way. I just wanted this to be fun. So, a game of supernatural tag was born. By the way, this is the first, first person point of view I have ever written for Darkest Powers, which is harder than my natural element of third person. I needed a challenge. So I gave it a shot. **

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer- Ummm... no, I got nothing.**

* * *

_Note to self: Stealing Derek's calculator has amazing results... nough said._

**Love and War**

Simon and I were sprawled across the throw in the living room of our newly acquired living quarters. It was a summer home Simon's father, Kit, had bought in the prairie of central Oregon, just in case. Well, our case was that case as we- we meaning Simon, Tori, Kit, my aunt Lauren, Derek and I- had fled completely across the country to evade a particular batch of mafia-like sorcerers, who didn't particularly like the idea of us- us meaning genetically altered or 'modified' supernaturals- running amok, threatening the secret that was our world. In a nutshell, twisted scientists, who always believed with every notion they could muster that they were acting for the greater good, had given my friends and I a bad name, resulting in the fact that the people after us- those mafia-like sorcerers I mentioned earlier- wouldn't hesitate to take us down.

Welcome to my life, the life of Chloe Saunders.

If I were an outsider, looking upon myself- it's happened before and it's an experience I rather not repeat- with the mind set of the naive, clueless girl I used to be, I would have pegged my life as the perfect mash-up movie on a fine line between sci-fy and fantasy. Now, for movie junkies like myself, others would understand that this crossover is fairly hard to achieve.

Actually, it's not as hard as you think. After all, none of us had anything to do with this twisted plot, and frankly, I didn't care anymore. Though my life wasn't a movie, where everyone knows that any decent movie has to have some sort of happy ending or lighter note in a whirlwind of conflict, mine didn't, and I didn't mind. My life wouldn't be _my life_ without the ever constant danger hanging above my head, and yet I can't bring myself to wish for my old life back.

I had friends, true and honest friends- as Tori couldn't be anything else. What with her constant bi-polar affection for me. One day, she's on my side, talking girl, mocking guys, worshiping anything fashion related, and giving me well needed advice on just about anything. The next, well, it's the complete opposite. At least she was real.

I had Simon, who, at some times awkward as he was slowly- slowly but surely- growing used to the idea that I didn't like him necessarily the way he liked me; he was someone I could go to to automatically escape the lack of control I had on my powers to more or less raise an army of the dead. He was easy going like that and a straight shooter. His smile was contagious, and I was ever grateful that he and I could remain friends.

I had my aunt, though my conflictions were still to be hashed out with her as she still wasn't unconditionally and completely on my side. The Chloe she used to know had changed. And that little tidbit continued to put irresolute situations between us.

Like the fact that my maturity in the supernatural world has brought about something I never would have dreamed of in my old life.

My first boyfriend.

My life wouldn't be my life if I didn't have Derek. The reason I hadn't chose Simon, because I was head over heels for his brother instead. The reason I needed advice from Tori, because, like I said, he was my first boyfriend. How the hell was I supposed to know what to do in a relationship. And he was definitely the reason why my aunt Lauren and I couldn't stop butting heads.

He was the reason I could take the life I had now in stride and with ease. Because I knew he was taking it with me, one step at a time, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

He was sweet, caring, protective and selfless; though all together angry, brooding, and stubborn, it's what made Derek- Derek. Not to mention the fact that he was a six foot- something werewolf. How could anyone miss that minor detail?

I know I sure as hell couldn't.

So, here I was, laid out across the carpet beside Simon as a plethora of his pages from the comic he started of our life's adventures were presented before us. I wouldn't be all that truthful if I said I were actually thinking about the dialogue used in our little showdown against Andrew that night we had figured out he was going to turn Derek into the pack, and not about the depiction of a certain guy pinning me to the floor as he took the hit of a spell for me, all scratched into the particular page I held in my hand, and had been holding for the last seven minutes and thirty-two seconds.

"Chloe? Paging space ranger Chloe, this is Earth speaking. Do you read?"

"Huh," I blurted stupidly, snapping out of my head and back into reality, the remnants of that night, the feel of Derek hovering protectively over me all but vanishing. I set the page face down onto the carpet and turned towards Simon. His hand was lifted to his lips, mimicking an intercom, and his words replayed through my ears. I giggled.

"Sorry, I just-"

"Spaced off to a completely different planet," Simon finished for me with a smirk, his amber eyes dancing with amusement before they morphed into mischief. "Does that planet inhabit a species known as Derek," he asked, his brows inching up his forehead.

"W-What? N-No o-of course not. I-I-" I stammered, cursing my inability to talk when nervous. Simon's features became skeptical.

"Uh-huh." Suddenly, he snatched the picture before me and leapt backwards onto the couch and out of my immediate reach. Before I even had time to react, he took a quick moment to scan over the picture. I felt my cheeks grow hot.

"Yeah, well, this picture you've been staring at for the past ten minutes begs to differ," Simon snickered, waving the page back and forth in a mocking fashion.

"Seven minutes," I countered, earning the roll of Simon's eyes.

"Whatever floats your boat, Chloe."

After a moment, I sighed.

"Fine. You caught me."

"I knew it. And everyone is convinced that Derek's the genius," Simon teased before hopping off the couch and beginning to gather the scattered pages on the floor. "But, nothing's keeping you here, Chloe. Why don't you go hang with him?"

"But- I thought we were-"

"Come on, Chloe," Simon chuckled. There was the faintest- and it was really miniscule- hint of disappointment in his voice, but something about him felt so sincere. "I can see you're not really into the comic at the moment. It's no big deal. We won't make that much progress if your spacing off anyways. Besides, we've been at it for over an hour, and you and Derek had hardly spent any time together since our great escape from New York. That doesn't seem very normal, don't you think?"

"What about our lives seems normal to you, Simon," I laughed and he grinned.

"Well you got me there, but seriously. I don't mind. I think Derek is up in our room," he motioned towards the stairs at the end of the hall, just past the kitchen. I had to be sure to check there first on my way up. I gave Simon a much appreciated thanks and made my way to the stairs, eager to actually spend some time with Derek as it was true, we hadn't seen much of each other since the fiasco at the lab, and for us, that was a bit out of the ordinary.

As I climbed the stairs, my stomach started to flutter with the familiar sensation of anticipation I always felt around Derek. There was no way to describe it, and I knew that it would take a lifetime to find the right words. It was as if there was a special side of me that was reserved for only Derek. One that perked up or jumped to life at the very thought of him and turned into a roller coaster of mixed- good- emotions, roaring to life as if my insides had a mind of their own whenever he was around me.

By the time I reached Derek's room, the door left slightly ajar, that roller coaster was reaching the deathly fifty foot drop as my nerves became the demanding emotion.

Really, what did I have to be nervous about? We both liked each other. That was established fairly well when we shared our first and only kiss. But, like Simon had said, we haven't had that much time together... like, as a couple. Weren't we supposed to hold hands and cuddle at every waking second. As nauseating as I had found that in all my friend's relationships before this life, that was all I could gander as to what a relationship was supposed to be like. For God's sake, I've never had one before.

Swallowing my anxiety rather roughly, I pushed the door open farther and peaked inside. A thought occurred to me and I froze for a second.

'Oh, God. What if he's changing? Not Changing, changing, but, like, getting dressed? It's not that I haven't seen it all before... Not that I have seen it _all_ before! Maybe I should come back later, when I'm clearly invited.'

_You're stalling_, the more logical part of myself piped up. _If he was changing, he would have his door closed all the way._

I had a point.

Shaking off my inner monologue, I took a step in, automatically catching Derek's hulking figure bent over his desk on the other side of the room, his back to me. As I approached him, I took in the sight. He had his chin propped against the back of his hand, the same elbow used as support as it pushed against his desk. His other hand lazily flipped a page of the book that sat atop the table before him, making it clear that he was reading. What he was reading though, was thick and old, based on the binding.

Did I mention he was a genius? That book must be of a third grade reading level to his brain where it would be of a University reading level to mine.

Pushing that insulting thought away, I glanced over his shoulder to note that it was an old mathematical-like book, but my mind really took the direction of wondering why he hadn't noticed me yet. With his heightened senses, his bionic hearing and smelling, he should have been aware of my presence since my conversation with Simon. In fact, I half expected to meet him in the middle, like on the stairs because of what he might have heard. But he hadn't. He wasn't even aware I was standing right behind him.

Or maybe he was.

'Why would he hold himself up here, reading? Wouldn't he rather be with someone? Anyone? His dad or Simon? Me? What if... what if he's avoiding me? Did I do something?'

_No, he would have already been on your case if you had done something stupid._

Very true.

I wondered how I was supposed to approach this situation- as his girlfriend that is. I thought long and hard about it before asking myself a vital question.

What would Tori do?

"_If you want answers from a guy, just flatter him. Boost up his ego and add a few flirtatious touches. On his arms particularly. That makes a guy think that you like how strong they are and powerful and-"_

It was at that point where I had tuned Tori out. Still, the advice wasn't half bad. Besides, it would give me a little chance of payback. After all the times he had snuck up on me.

Just as I was about to wrap my arms around his neck from behind, he shifted, causing me to freeze. He reached for the other side of the desk, all without looking away from the book and grabbed for a very technical looking calculator. One of those miniature computer-like devices that were over a hundred dollars. One that was most likely Derek's most prized possession judging by how obsessed he was with math.

An evil little idea formed in my brain and it was so much better than the advice I was two seconds from taking from Tori. After all, Derek wasn't really the touchy feely type. If you wanted answers from him, you had to threaten something important to him.

So I snatched the calculator from his fingers instead.

I jumped back- much like Simon had done a few moments ago when he had taken the comic strip from me down in the living room- just as Derek whipped around, eyes hard with annoyance before they dawned on me. His green eyes- God, so, so green- softened a fraction, but not by much. I felt my heart stagger a little in anxiety at the look.

"What are you doing," he asked carefully, nearly making me melt at the texture of his voice. But I held my bearings and straightened, clutching the calculator tight in my right hand as I crossed my arms.

"Why didn't you hear me come in? Were you really concentrating that hard," I gestured to the book. His reaction to my interrogating questions wasn't all that surprising. He snorted.

"Yeah, I've finally found a way to distract myself." That light stagger in my heart hit me again, only this time, it was a hardcore biff and I was worried Derek had heard it.

"Why would you need a distraction," I asked quietly. He shrugged, looking over his shoulder at the book before meeting my eyes.

"We have so much breathing room now. I'm supposed to relax, but I can't. I know it's not the same as when we were with Andrew. I trust my dad, but-"

"The wolf in you is still restless," I finished for him. That made sense. Only, I wish he hadn't resorted to reading and math as distractions. I was capable of being a distraction, right?

Actually, yes. Yes I was. And if he was too dull to see it- as smart as the guy is, he's still a guy- then I'll just have to show him. I pulled the calculator up to take a good look at it, instantly confusing myself as my eyes scanned across all the complicated buttons. It's like it was a whole different language. Derek must have seen the look on my face, because he snorted and reached for the calculator.

"Give it here, before you hurt yourself," he demanded lightly, a hint of amusement in his voice. I scowled at the comment and did the exact opposite of what he asked. I took a step back out of his reach.

"No."

"Chloe," Derek said, his tone just a tad harder than a second ago. He reached again. I pivoted to the side, giving him a meaningful look of reject.

"Just give it back," he snapped, losing his patience. It didn't take much, his patience was about as big as my pinky nail.

"Why? Can't you do the math in your head? I'm surprised that Derek Souza has to resort to a meaningless little device to do all of his hard work for him." Oh, geez, I think I just went there. And Derek didn't look too happy about it. At all. In fact, I could vaguely hear that familiar rumble produce from his chest.

"No," he countered and stood from his seat, towering me instantly. Such an unfair advantage. "It's just really expensive and, knowing you, I'm worried that you'll break it. So, hand it over." This time, it was a legitimate command that came with his extending hand.

I jumped back again, only this time, I didn't stop moving. I bounced back and forth, like a boxer preparing for a match, only more subtle. Derek scrunched his brows as he watched me.

"What are you doing," he asked, completely beyond annoyed now as he matched my movements with his eyes.

"I read once that wolves don't like quick, jittery movements. It messes with their eyesight and makes them dizzy."

"So now you're just messing with me?"

"Yep." I smirked. "What are you going to do about it, Souza? You want distractions? I've got some. Take a breather. Relax. Have a little fun."

"Stealing my calculator is your idea of fun?" I nodded and repeated.

"What are you going to do about-" He lunged. For Derek, that was predictable. For me, it wasn't predictable that I would duck out of his way. I did though, and that resulted in Derek stumbling to the floor. I stifled a laugh as he brought himself to his hands and knees. I opened my mouth to comment on his reflexes, how they were lacking considering he hadn't Changed in barely over a week, but instantly shut my mouth and swallowed when I noticed him crouched there on a floor, eyes intently locked on mine, a menacing light about them as he tensed closer to the floor. For a moment, he looked more wolf than human. So, instead of my brilliant remark, I released words that would cause Tori's brows in inch up her forehead in disbelief.

"Oh shit!"

I fled the room just as he pounced, barely skimming passed his grasp. As I sprinted down the hallway, I caught his form flying out of his room towards me in my peripheral vision. I finally understood the heroin's desire to scream while being chased in movies, and I did. It was the real deal, scream queen shriek. But I wasn't scared, in fact, the chase was thrilling and exciting. It was fun.

I screamed louder as he inched closer. We raced the entire hall of the second floor where I purposefully skipped the stairs because I knew he would catch me there faster. It was futile to think that he wouldn't catch me. I was just trying to drag it out as long as possible. So I dashed into the extra room Kit had restored into an office, knowing how the layout held and extra door that lead into his room and back into the hall.

Derek and I ran past Kit, my screams bouncing off the walls as we passed through. I barely heard Kit's halfhearted, "No eating other people in the house, Derek," break through my own voice. I dared to glance back once I was in Kit's room to see how close Derek was. But he wasn't there and I wondered if Kit was really being serious. I halted just as I was at the door, home free for the stairs to listen, to see if Derek's dad was chewing him out. Just then, the calculator was plucked from my fingers and I jumped from surprise.

Derek was leaning against the wall in the hallway just outside his dad's door. He had doubled back and waited for me. Smart. He frowned at me as if I was a misbehaved child, but he couldn't hide the slight flush in his cheeks or the excited sparkle in his eyes. He had thought it was fun too.

Good. Because it wasn't over.

"I'm it."

"What," he asked, knitting his brows together in confusion.

"You caught me. Now I'm it," I giggled, then turned away from him.

"Well, then aren't you, uh, supposed to get me back," he asked nervously. I turned in time to see him rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, the pink in his cheek more prominent. It was these contradictions in Derek that were the reason I liked him so much. One moment, he's sour and moody, the next he's careful to hide his excitement.

"Oh, I will. But when you least expect it." I grinned innocently and his worried features were replaced with a smirk. Nearly a genuine smile, like the one I had seen when he had first kissed me. For the first time since then, I felt like we were in a relationship. One where I was flirting and he was flirting back with those intense eyes of his and that cocky twitch of his lips he owned.

I felt as if he was really looking at me as if I were his girlfriend.

* * *

Sneaking up on Derek again proved to be impossible. Now, he was completely on his guard. I swear, I shouldn't have warned him and maybe I would have caught him reading again, or eating, when he wasn't so vigilant. But no, each time I tried, he would turn on me, that smirk- my smirk- playing with his lips, a comment escaping them that sounded like, "You're going to have to try harder than that." By dinner, this was starting to get a little frustrating.

It wasn't until later that night when I finally thought of something.

'I need to stop going to him and I need him to come to me.'

_This isn't a good idea. He's going to get pissed._

'No he won't. He'll understand. He might even respect my guts a little.'

Still, part of me doubted that. But I was going through with it anyways.

I told everyone I was tired when nine o'clock rolled around and went off to my room. We had all claimed separate rooms aside from Derek and Simon. They both opted into sharing when Tori insisted on having her own and I refused to bunk with aunt Lauren with our current case of not seeing eye to eye. So my plan was free to flow seamlessly.

At about midnight, when I sure everyone else was sound asleep, I bolted up in bed and stifled a scream that had been gradually growing in my chest over the past couple hours, waiting for the opportune moment to execute my plan. Derek would hear it, even if it was muffled. I wasn't stupid. I didn't want to wake everyone else in the house.

Sure enough, Derek rushed into my room seconds later, in all his shirtless glory and was crouched beside my bed before I could even blink. Truth be told, I have been having a lot of nightmares lately, which was the reasoning behind my lack of sleep and this worried Derek. This, right here, is where we had spent most of our time in the last week. And even in this, Derek was just making sure I hadn't raised anything. It was almost as if it was his unwritten employment contract. That he was the one who had to make sure that noone's powers went awry.

He hadn't quite gotten the comforting concept down, but he was getting there. Like now, he had taken hold of my hand, silently begging me to look at him where I didn't dare too. This wasn't like other nights where I woke up screaming.

I wasn't covered in sweat. I wasn't panting. I wasn't on the verge of tears, attempting to be a big. brave girl who didn't need Derek's comforts as much as I wanted them. This is where I had to put all the acting that had been drilled into me into play. I took in a deep, staggering breath.

"J-Just a d-dream," I lied, and I instantly felt bad for it.

'What was I thinking? This is a horrible idea!'

"What was it," Derek asked quietly, making my guilt escalate.

"Oh, screw it! You're it," I snapped, poking him in the...

'Oh, God! I just poked his delicious chest! Oh! I just called Derek's chest delicious! I'm such a girl.'

I blushed ferociously and hung my head.

"That's not funny, Chloe. I thought you actually had a nightmare, or saw something."

"I know," I said quietly before starting.

'Wait a minute. It's his fault that it has come to this in the first place!'

"You asked for this. If you didn't have the advantage in this game, I wouldn't have had to take this measure. But you left me no choice. I used my strength to my advantage and you fell for it, hook, line and sinker," I barked, jabbing his oh-so-perfect chest... again... and again. He snatched my hand to stop me.

"That's starting to hurt," he growled at me. And not the way I wanted him to- I grudgingly admit- but angrily.

"Sorry," I murmured halfheartedly, eyes still fixed on his chest. His fingers around mine loosened and I slipped my hand from his grasp, only to return it to the spot I had poked him. I carefully brushed my fingers across his skin, mesmerized by the warmth enveloping my appendages. The little game I had been obsessing over all day was completely forgotten.

"Chloe."

I snapped my eyes up to his; they glittered in the dark with an intense tenderness that was so soft I swore I swooned a little under his gaze. Heat touched my cheeks as I realized what I was doing.

_Greedily fawning over your boyfriend's chest when you two haven't even shared your second kiss yet, that's what you're doing._

'Oh my God!'

"S-sorry," I squeaked, bowing my head and drowning in mortification.

"Don't be."

Before I had time to react to his words, which were so quite that I barely heard them and thought I had mistaken what he had said, his fingers were beneath my chin, forcing me to look at him. But even then I didn't have time before I felt the soft touch of his lips against mine.

This time, I melted for sure.

It was sweet, and chaste. A quick peck and, considering my own greed a moment ago, it wasn't enough. He was pulling away, taking his heat and gentle lips with him. But I wasn't allowing it. For once, in this relationship, I felt like I was finally contributing something to get us farther and closer together with this game and I wasn't about to stop. I needed some ounce of control, where the last two times our lips had met, it was by his accord. This time, it would be by mine.

I wrapped my fingers around the back of his neck, tangling them into his soft locks at the nape and pulled him back to me, mashing my lips on top of his instead of the other way around. He didn't miss a beat, placing a hand on my waist he used the other as support against the mattress to give himself a higher leverage and better access to the kiss. I imagined it was uncomfortable to hold for a while, as I was intending to hold him there for quite some time, so slowly, I fell backwards, taking him down onto the mattress with me.

His lips parted beneath mine and I followed suit, barely aware of the fact that he was slowly taking over, but I know longer cared. I had done my job. Now I was just going with the flow, with whatever came next.

My arms constricted around his neck, pulling his frame against my own as my legs tangled with his. My insides were on fire with life and that part of me that only emerged around Derek was taking complete control of anything rational that I felt my mind check out, my thoughts grow incoherent, especially when Derek brushed his tongue across my lower lip.

Though it escaped my lips, and I honestly didn't care at the moment, it wasn't Chloe who let slip that tiny moan as Derek's large, warm hands roamed my sides. It was Derek's Chloe, begging him for more. I could have sworn I felt his smile against our kiss at the sound, so I noted to myself that I shouldn't feel embarrassed later.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. I was only human, and breathing was essential. Derek, however, could handle just a little more than I could, and he simply skipped his lips down to my neck as an alternative, leaving a small trail of burning desire down it's length. I resisted the urge to moan again, only left brainwashed in the attempt. My mind slipped into a drunken stupor, intoxicated by Derek's gently touches.

"Chloe," he whispered in the dark. The sound was deep and gave away how much effort it took for him to speak properly. I, on the other hand, did not trust my capability to speak.

"Hmmm?" Was my alternative.

"You're still it," he said menacingly before pressing his lips on a spot between my neck and shoulder, rendering me completely zombified.

Somewhere, way, way deep down, the comment clicked, only to promise to surface in the near future.

_Well, fuck._

**Well? I couldn't stop smiling while writing this. In fact, this was written by a giggling fangirl. So I hope you guys love it just the same.**

**Review Please!**


End file.
